22 June 2011

I had the distinct pleasure of working with an author I admire, the rather-luxe Nerine Dorman. Together we came up with a short teaser story featuring Therese Willegen and Xan Marcelles (from Crooked Fang) for our combined readers.

09 June 2011

Writing is worth fighting for. It’s worth the loss of sleep that a new idea or a plot unkink causes. It’s worth the money spent on obscure, rare, or collectible volumes of research. It’s worth the time spent hunched over the keyboard so long my back cracks when I finally stand up. It’s worth starving over for just a few more hours until I can wrap up a scene or put the final touches on a short story.

There is no easy way to write. To write, I must suffer in isolation. I must buy strange music and subject myself to oddball hours to seek the silence that exists only when the others are sleeping. But I’m not the only one who must bend to the will of inspiration. My family has to understand why they can’t visit on a deadline weekend, or why I can’t just sit down and watch a movie when I’m posed in front of an open Word doc so long I may as well gather dust.

I must battle with my introverted nature when promoting my writing. I must spend months of my life writing blurbs, editing commas, and thinking/pursuing new and interesting ways to convince others to read what I’ve produced. The quaint, quiet writer of yesteryear has gone. Now an author must Tweet, Facebook and blog if he/she wishes to enjoy even an intermediate measure of success.

05 June 2011

It’s been some time since I’ve updated this blog with much to read, and for that I’m sorry. But I’ve been busy working behind the scenes on so many things.

Crooked Fang

As many of you knew, I was writing a web serial called Crooked Fang. After receiving so much encouragement, I pulled the contents of the blog and compiled the story with intentions to make it into a true-blue novel. That particular project is in the revision stage, which is the stage before submission to the publisher. Currently it’s about 1/3 complete, which is great considering I’m fairly much retyping the entire thing and also writing more scenes into the story.

My newsletter mailing list has appreciated a substantial amount of growth, and for that I truly wish to thank you. The fact that each of you subscribed voluntarily and humor me by reading whatever static Xan throws out every Saturday night keeps me with full intentions to continue making it a high-priority item.

Scrivener has been a great big help with compiling Crooked Fang, and for those of you skeptical of its usability, there are a number of very useful video tutorials. One ten-minute video set me on the right path and although I still keep a master Word doc, I’m slowly learning to trust in this wonderful writing software.

Here’s a screenshot of it in action, straight from my desktop:

The revisions are tentatively scheduled for completion by the end of July. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Future Plans

I’m in talks with a possible home for Crooked Fang, but the challenge has been to find a publisher willing to take a chance on something not done very frequently before, and that’s a multimedia production. Because of this, the album will most likely precede the book itself. No worries though, we’re looking at putting out a Crooked Fang album 2, which will lean more towards the metal genre in music. Feedback is always welcome. I would enjoy hearing what any of you imagine Crooked Fang would sound like as a real band.

After I finish the Crooked Fang novel, I’ve already got the second one partially written. I also have plans for my 500 project, a horror/thriller novel featuring the Grim Reaper. That too has an album in talks. The album would feature various artists and have a wide range of sounds, as I am very much a David Lynch fan.

And that’s about it for future plans. Along the way, I might put out little short stories here and there, but my focus will remain primarily on the aforementioned projects.

Feel free to join me on Twitter or my Facebook page. You can also give Crooked Fang a like on Facebook. For fresh Crooked Fang flash stories, you’ll need to sign up for the Crooked Fang newsletter. The sign-up is located on the Crooked Fang site just above the big blue bass on the right sidebar.

I really look forward to the rest of this year and the next and only hope that I can fulfill your expectations from me. Thanks for reading and being my friend.

All of sudden, I found myself in love with the world...

Eh, Whatever.

Carrie Clevenger enjoys
documentaries, non-fiction, Blue Moon, music, and coffee. Sometimes she
writes poetry and short stories that have bad endings. She's the elusive
sort and has a horrid fear of meeting people, but socialization isn't
exactly how good books are written. Carrie is the author of the Crooked
Fang series and has many more awful things planned.